Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- Almost immediately following the news of the first terrorist attacks that eventually killed 17 people across France , the global community united around a Twitter hashtag `` Je suis Charlie '' and just days later foreign leaders linked arms with their French counterparts to lead a historic million-person strong rally .

Meanwhile , explosives strapped to a girl who appeared to be about 10-years-old detonated on Saturday , killing at least 20 people , in a country whose encounters with terrorism were also punctuated by a hashtag -- this time '' #BringBackOurGirls '' of Nigeria . Boko Haram militants killed as many as 2,000 people , mostly civilians , in a massacre that started the weekend before the terror attack on Charlie Hedbo in downtown Paris .

Both the attacks in Nigeria and those in Paris are shocking and horrifying in their own respects , and yet one fomented an unprecedented international reaction -- a popular show of force that rivaled even the reaction to 9/11 -- while the response to the attacks in Nigeria paled in comparison .

Here are a few of the reasons why :

Symbolism

The terrorist attack on the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo was not just violent , but highly symbolic .

While the terrorists in Nigeria targeted innocent civilians in a strategic northern town in Nigeria and in a crowded marketplace , the gunmen who stormed the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo took aim at one of the most cherished values in France : freedom of expression .

The attack quickly sparked the hashtag and image on social media proclaiming `` Je Suis Charlie , '' I am Charlie . In a way that few nations would , the French people took the attack on Charlie Hebdo as an attack on the very core of their country 's constitution and values -- a country where the line between politics and culture blends often seamlessly and where criticism and mockery of public officials rushes toward -- not away -- from controversy .

It 's a special relationship to a freedom won over and fought for more than once through bloody revolution that even President Barack Obama recognized as he reacted to the Charlie Hebdo shootings .

`` No country knows better than France , that freedom has a price because France gave birth to democracy itself , '' he said .

And Americans can directly relate to attacks on freedom of speech , former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell said .

And beyond the French people 's broad reverence for freedom of speech , France is a country heavy on symbolism , embodied by its national motto of `` Liberté , Egalité , Fraternité , '' Liberty , Equality , Fraternity .

That symbolism , which drove millions into the streets of Paris , cities around France and around the world , was also quickly seized on by France 's President François Hollande , who quickly called for national unity in an address that honed in on France 's ardent belief in freedom .

And while the reaction to the attacks in Paris evolved naturally through social media , Hollande and his government successfully picked up on the public sentiment and amplified those voices .

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan , though , had concerns more pressing than issuing a rallying cry of defiance in the face of attacks that again sought to undermine his country 's very sovereignty .

In fact , while Jonathan issued a statement condemning the attack on Charlie Hebdo and expressing Nigeria 's `` full solidarity '' with the people of France , he failed to do the same for the victims of terrorism in his own country . Jonathan is up for reelection next month and the atrocities committed by Boko Haram are the last thing he wants to address .

And the attacks in Nigeria have barely resonated within the country 's borders , said John Campbell former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria .

`` It has n't even had a very large impact in Lagos , '' Campbell said of Nigeria 's most populous city .

By contrast , the attacks on freedom of speech resounded strongly not just in France , but around the world .

`` Americans can directly relate to attacks on freedom of speech . They can directly relate to terrorism and the impact in France is being compared to the impact of 9/11 in the United States , '' Campbell said . `` Boko Haram by contrast is viewed as a kind of civil war ... and it 's all happening a very long way away . ''

Hollande , however , came face to face with an opportunity -- an opportunity to boost his own sagging political fortunes and to help unify a society increasingly fractured by politics .

A country aching for long-lost national unity

The attacks also gave France a shot in the arm , reinvigorating a long-lost sentiment of national unity not seen since at least the last World Cup .

Hollande has faced the lowest popularity of any President in French history , with just 13 % approving of his leadership at the end of 2014 .

Driving Hollande 's sinking numbers , an economy struggling to reboot has also fueled the historic rise of France 's far right party , the National Front . And after waves of immigration , the National Front and its xenophobic , protectionist platform are thriving on the perception that immigration is changing the color and meaning of the French nationality and challenging the very core of France 's identity .

But the reaction to the attacks has given the National Front and Marine Le Pen a slap in the face like only Charlie Hebdo -- which regularly lampooned the party and its leader -- could .

Le Pen decided not to attend the march after she was not expressly invited , though the event was open to any participants .

Instead , the demonstrators in Paris proclaimed a national unity cut in stark contrast to the divisive rhetoric of the National Front .

Christians , Muslims and Jews , immigrants and those with deep roots in France joined together to proclaim `` Je Suis Charlie . '' But that 's not all they proclaimed .

Muslims joined others in carrying signs saying `` Je Suis Juif , '' I am Jewish , a powerful statement that countered not only the third gunmen Amedy Coulibaly 's targeting of Jews but also increasingly concerning reports of rising anti-Semitism in France that are spurring thousands of French Jews to emigrate to Israel .

And all joined in singing `` La Marseillaise , '' the powerful rallying cry that is the French national anthem .

Common fears

As much as the terrorist attacks failed in their objective of silencing criticism of their Islamist ambitions , the attacks brought concerns over homegrown terrorists and foreign fighters to the surface -- not just in Europe , but in the United States .

The three gunmen who locked down Paris for days were not only French citizens , but two claimed to be affiliated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula while Coulibaly pledged allegiance to ISIS , the Islamist group which has ravaged parts of Syria and Iraq and inspired militants around the world .

The attacks have prompted American intelligence officials to scrutinize their terror databases and reassess potential threats , and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest discussed the risk countries like the U.S. and France face in taking the fight to ISIS .

But the attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria do n't stoke the same fears in the West , former House intelligence committee chairman Mike Rogers said .

`` A lot look at Boko Haram and associate them more as a separatist group than an al-Qaeda minded group . I think that 's wrong , '' said Rogers , who is now a CNN National Security commentator . `` If you have a group that is this brutal and shows this much disregard for human life and it 's growing and it 's trying to recruit people to its cause , this is a huge problem . ''

Opinion : Boko Haram massacre : 7 questions worth asking

Al Qaeda in the Maghreb -LRB- AQIM -RRB- was at one time the largest funder of Boko Haram , Rogers said , and AQIM has largely influenced the Nigerian group 's tactics .

While Boko Haram does n't present as much of a threat to the U.S. as ISIS , Rogers believes U.S. officials should be more concerned about Boko Haram , particularly as the economies in African countries are booming and much of the continent is looking for trade relationships beyond the continent .

Without a sense of urgency or a direct threat , the American and European public are unlikely to react to attacks in Nigeria in the same way as they react to attacks in Paris .

And besides Americans have grown numb to the level of violence throughout the African continent , said J. Peter Pham , director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council . Boko Haram alone killed an estimated 10,000 people in 2014 .

`` There 's a sense that ` That 's Africa , bad things happen . This is Paris , it 's a Western country . This should n't happen , ' '' Pham explained . `` We 're conditioned by years of reports coming out of Africa to expect this type of thing in Africa . ''

Optics and a 24/7 media

People around the world watched for days as the manhunt and later tense standoff unfolded between French security forces and the terrorists . In France , around Europe and in the United States , people connected on social media and reacted in real time as they watched each development unfold on cable news or through dramatic videos posted to YouTube .

And that coverage dominated the news cycle , with little if any information popping up on TV about an ongoing massacre in northern Nigeria that would in the end claim 2,000 lives . Instead , most found out late this weekend or on Monday morning about the attack in Nigeria that started on Jan. 3 .

There are not only fewer reporters and news cameras in Nigeria than in Paris , but access to the northern region of Nigeria where the attacks unfolded is dangerous and practically inaccessible .

`` There are n't visuals of Baga and what happened there , '' Pham said of the town ravaged by Boko Haram 's militants . In Paris , everything is happening `` in real time , '' he added .

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France and Nigeria experienced waves of terrorism during the first weeks of 2015

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While the terror attacks in Paris sparked international unified outrage , reaction to Nigeria was more muted

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Symbolism , politics and media all played a role in how France 's response to terrorism was perceived